ATHABASCA – Black Friday in Athabasca has a festive feel to it unbecoming of the name — this year’s Moonlight Madness celebrations were no different, even if the weather outside was anything but frightful.
Athabascans of all ages gathered in town for the 7 p.m. Moonlight Madness Santa Parade Nov. 24, which featured floats from Fortis Alberta, A&W, the Athabasca River Runners Snowmobile Club, and more to celebrate the holiday season and to encourage people to support their local businesses.
"Somebody said to me that downtown Athabasca looked like Canmore with all these people walking around downtown with bags in their hands," said Athabasca and District Chamber of Commerce president Rick Baksza. "The feedback we've got from local businesses has just been overwhelming."
The 25-float parade went off without a hitch; the floats started at the riverfront before heading south up 49 Street, looping around the block down Main Street, towards the highway, before making their way back towards the riverfront. Candy and cookies were plentiful, and Santa himself brought up the rear of the parade, waving at kids from his sleigh.
“It was the best Moonlight Madness we’ve had since we opened eight years ago,” said Lorinda Sparling, co-owner of Paddymelon Gifts Espresso and Eatery. “The amount of people down here was incredible, even in the week leading up to it you could feel it — everyone was excited, there were tons of plans, it was really good to see.”
After the parade was over, everyone had an hour and a half to spend perusing downtown Athabasca before the fireworks ignited, and many took the chance to get some of their holiday shopping out of the way. It was a change from previous years where the fireworks had happened earlier, but Sparling said it was a welcome one.
“Having all the different small things running around, the dinosaurs on the street and the carollers, all that extra stuff from people making the extra effort was huge, it lends to our small town charm,” said Sparling. “Having that gap between the fantastic parade, it kept people in town. It wasn’t too late, but it brought it a lot of extra people.”
Other businesses saw crowds the event hadn't drawn in since before COVID-19.
"We were busy from right around 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. at night, and even after that since we still had customers in the store," said Anita Veenstra, co-owner of Cheap Seats Sporting Goods. "(The turnout) would have been closer to what we saw six years ago, it was the best we've seen since then."
Finally, the Athabasca and District Chamber of Commerce wrapped up the night with a multicoloured bow, if you will, with an eight-and-a-half-minute firework display over the river. Whoops and hollers could be heard from parking lots, sidewalks, and both parks on either side of the river as the dancing sparks lit up the night sky in a chorus that sang: "Christmas has officially arrived."
"The time slot seemed to work, it doesn't make everyone happy, but on a Friday, bingo," said Baksza. "I heard really good things about us extending the fireworks until 9 o'clock, it kept people downtown forever."
